At the Soil Erosion Lab on South Russell Street at Purdue University, the doors are locked, and a sign hangs on the door informing potential visitors of the shutdown.

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Since Sanders, a program support assistant at the National Soil Erosion Laboratory at Purdue University, is technically employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Lafayette resident is one of about 500,000 federal workers who were sent home last week as a result of the federal government shutdown.

"We're not even sure we'll get our check on Monday," Sanders said. "I've never seen anything like this. Anxiety has been pretty high for me. I'm a single person and don't have any other income to rely on." ...